Via Thers at WhiskeyFire, we are alerted to the fact that (at last!) Joe Klein has had a brain-wave about why us damn lefty bloggers are so mean and have such dirty, dirty mouths. It's (gasp!) because of the Right!
As a newcomer to this blogging business, I've been interested in the Edwards dust-up. As readers know, I've been critical of the tone of the left-wing blogosphere in the past.
We understand that, Joe. It's because we hate America and all. But we're willing to look past that long enough for you to impart this critical knowledge that you have recently obtained, oh bold and intrepid purveyor of truthiness:
But I think that Yglesias raises an important point here and anyone reading the comments section of any Swampland post knows that troglyditic right-wing cavedwellers fester there, in a vomitously vile manner, too.
What? There are brainless attack-morons on the Right? You don't say!
Klein details an experience he had when he left the DC bubble and turned on the thingy that makes noise and pretty music in the dashboard of his (What do you call it? Oh, yes!) rental car.
And I'd add this: Radio. I was driving into Springfield, Ill last night for the Obama festivities and caught the ever-vile Sean Hannity "interviewing" the even-more-vile Dick Morris about Hillary. Just disgraceful…and they were mild compared to the crap I've heard from Rush and others over the years.
You should get out more, Kleiny. The shit is everywhere. Ever heard of this thing called Fox News? KSFO Snuff Radio? Hello?!
It's obvious that the current level of vitriol on the left is a reaction to nearly twenty years of sewage emanating from Rush et al.
Well, congratulations, Mr. Klein. Provided with a map, detailed instructions, a flashlight, and both hands, you have finally, finally successfully found your own ass. Next we're going to work on teaching you to chew with your mouth closed, read without moving your lips, and tie your own Stacy Adams saddle oxfords.
But please, oh newly minted Master of the Obvious. By all means, go on.
It's also a product of the times: There's a whole generation of people who believe that serious political discourse consists of Pat Buchanan and Eleanor Clift screaming at each other. The intemperance on the left has three other sources (1) justifiable fury over the Bush adminstration
Yes!
(2) justifiable fury over the way the media treated Clinton and, to a certain extent, Bush
Yes, yes!
and (3) ideologues of any sort tend to be obnoxious.
You know, you were close there, Joe, but you had to blow it on the dismount. Sure, ideologues are obnoxious, but you know what's more obnoxious? When a condescending middle aged fuck like yourself with no moral compass tries to wade into a fierce ideological battle that we've been here waging for years and then tells us that we don't love our country and that we don't know how to fight.
The trouble is, obnoxious doesn't win you many friends or elections.
Oh, well, then by all means, we should fall back on the pre-2006 election plan of continually getting date-raped by Republican "bipartisanship", swallowing Right Wing narratives whole, and rooting for blinkered, moronic tools like Joe Lieberman? That sounds like a great plan, Mr. Klein! When and how shall we ever start?
Oh, right. That old wheeze you pompous trad-media farts seem to prize so highly, "civility".
Now, being civil doesn't mean you can't call a fool a fool. It's means you can't call a fool "a wet turd of a human fart." (A sobriquet employed by my favorite character in Primary Colors, Libby Holden.)
How lame is that? He reaches back to his own slanderous, pseudonymous, anti-Clinton hit piece of a book to wag his finger condescendingly at me.
Vileness is fun, but it's kid fun–and there is very important business to be transacted in the next few years. And promising candidates like John Edwards don't need to be weighed down by the ill-considered anger of their supporters.
You hear that, you dirty punks with your stupid blogs? All the hundreds of thousands of dollars you raised for the 2006 elections, the sharp increase in the number of young people interested in politics, and the seizure by force which this blog and others have led in the media narrative regarding the Libby case, all that? It's kid stuff.
Clearly, we need to all take our cues from our Uncle Joe. It's much more polite to lay back and smile when you're being raped by the Right. It hurts less than if you fight back. And by all means, you should stab other liberals in the back and spare no opportunity to belittle the True Believers. Political commentary is obviously a dirty, dirty business that should be left to dirty, dirty white men who have a wealth of experience knuckling under and selling out. Why not? It's worked so well in the past!
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TREX!!!!!
Fitz!
I’ll be seeing him tomorrow.
Any messages?
Gee, my second #1 today! Must be living right!
How are you this fine night Trex?
egregious,
You go get them tomorrow! The Eyes of FDL’ers will upon you!
Ha! Thanks, from this Marblehead, MA native.
AZ Matt @
4
Indeed! See if you can stare down Libby. Make him flinch. Take a sharp-edged paperweight in your purse in case you need to get his attention.
Provided with a map, detailed instructions, a flashlight, and both hands, you have finally, finally successfully found your own ass.
Umm, in Joke Line’s case, I think GPS and magnetic resonance imaging were also involved, but, maybe he’ll get a tv series out of it, “Epiphanies `R Us,” something like that…. :)
Save it, Trex, the man doesn’t deserve any consideration, not even rancor.
Read any good Dickens lately?
“Vileness is fun, but it’s kid fun–and there is very important business to be transacted in the next few years. “
So you dirty hippes pipe down, k?
yakass.
Marblehead–the object of so many jokes.
Endicott Peabody was the only Massachusetts governor to have four towns named after him: Endicott, Peabody, Marblehead and Athol.
TREX! There you go, being all civil and complementing Klein when he gets something right. Not that Klein will notice, of course. Or that he got very much right. At lease he’s finally noticed the right has a massive anger management problem.
How much of a smug bastard to you have to be to quote a character from a book you wrote to make a point??!?!?@?!?
Seriously. And a “wet turd of a human fart” is pretty bush-league snark, the kind of thing Ace at Ace of Spades would dine out on for a week, but for connoisseurs like moi-self, it’s pretty Open Mic Night stuff.
TRex for the win!
It may not always be civil, the truth. Sometimes, it’s harsh and abrasive.
It’s still the truth.
I throw up a little in my mouth everytime I see that t*rd on the tube. Thanks for the throw down of Kle*n. I wish I could do that!!! I think I love you.
egregious @ 2
Just whistle “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” as he walks by, and see if it elicits at least a smile!
Jeebus TRex, you musta been eating your Wheaties today!
Ripping Joke Line a new asshole is totally appropo since his head is busy occupying his 1st one.
Give Joe credit, he did nail this one.
OK, that’s enough.
Putz!!!
cebm @ 14
Nothing to it.
I’ll be offering a weekly course in the spring.
That reminds me. I’m starting yoga in the morning.
They had to get an extra big mat for me.
Anyone who co-blogs with Ana[l] Marie Cox has nothing to say about civility in the blogosphere. Watching her morph from a buttsex-obsessed DeeCee outsider to a TIME.com blog-personality has revealed something terribly flawed in their hiring. Oh — Sully, too.
TRex @ 19
Just remember to take your nap in the afternoon too.
Holy Sh*t Dude. Diatribe or Manifesto? Either way , I think you let him have it.
Hey, TRex, you heard about Amanda, right?
Tell me Joe Klein posted that “how i learned to brush my teeth” on his blog at Time.
Tomorrow, it’s “I disovered my putz” and the next day it “Boy have penises and girls have vaginas.”
Tell me, are ther no more qualified people that Joe Klien to right from the center left?
a “wet turd of a human fart” is pretty bush-league snark (Posts our saurian host)
Would you prefer the snark I heard from an engineer who had spent too many years at sea:
“A festering colonic abcess”?
Brilliant! Too bad you’re the dirty left and all, or you might have a nice little career in writing.
Careful on the yoga mat. Don’t want to tear it, first day out, with your talons.
Been doing some thinking about linking.
Better get to bed now. Not sure what tomorrow will bring–we’re forecasted to get up to 11 inches of show by tomorrow night. Work is scheduled to start a bit later than usual, and they’re leaving open the possibility that we could get sent home early.
Mainly because last Tuesday the snow hit right before rush hour, and the drive was a disaster for a lot of people.
Central Ohio doesn’t do snow very well.
Hey, Joe Klein is my pal…
I’m more of a lurker than a commenter, so please forgive me – but something has been bothering me all day. Maybe a bit off-topic, but it does deal with wingnuts.
Today at work I was working alongside a couple of wingnuttish women. One of them started out the day very upset that the Dixie Chicks had won all of those Grammy awards (”they’re un-Amurrican!!” she sez) and then she couldn’t exactly remember what had started all the anti-Chicks sentiment in the first place, until I ’splained it to her. Later on she was on the internets and got it into her head to check into Barack Obama and his alleged attendance at a madrassa (sp?) in his youth. She proceeded to hold forth about Muslims and Islam in general, and how she would never trust a Muslim to hold any kind of office. I’d had enough by that point and I asked her “If I were a Muslim, would you speak to me?” Her reply was that she would deign to speak to me, but she would not trust me to run the country.
Was I out of line in asking that question?
Thanks, and back to lurking :-)
TRex in a YOGA class?? Man, I’d pay to see that.
As for Joke Line, you had to know what he was building up to, right? He’s done it before…yes, the dirty fucking hippies have a point, but they’re so…so…UNCIVIL.
Oh. Muh. Gawd.
The humanity, the humanity!!
Dial 911 and get an ambulance, stat!!
Somebody just beat some sense into Joke Line with a cluestick!! Oh, I hope it leaves a mark!!
But before the ambulance arrives, give Joke Line one more hefty smack along the softer side of his head with that cluestick for his comment about Eleanor Clift. Eleanor’s never been able to get a word in edgewise on McLaughlin’s wretched show.
And after that last whack on Joke Line’s soft spot, give the cluestick to Eleanor with instructions to do the same thing to that hosebag McLaughlin. For starters.
John Amato @ 28
I am sure the Betty Ford Clinic can help you.
8)
Neil @
24
Hey Joe, Neil’s got your number and, oh yeah, here’s a news flash fer ya: Anna Nicole Smith: Still Dead! but Al Gore ain’t…
I’d be very careful hangin’ in SwampLand like yer are ya might get a baaaaaad case fungus.
In the worst possible place.
John Amato @ 28
For real? Why does he come off like a sanctimonious Joe, telling progressives how they should should express themselves?
Neil @ 33
Because that’s the only kind of “democrat” TradMed will allow on that side of the teevee camera. Also see: Lieberman, Joe.
LoudounLib @ 29
I dunno, I think the only approach to these people is to explain things slowly and carefully like you’re explaining it to a kindergarten kid. That’s how Fox News gets them hooked. It’s news that requires no thought, no independent cognition. The sooner we allow for that in our discussions with Conservatives, the faster we can win over hearts and minds.
Cookies and punch help reinforce the positive message, by the way.
Cookies and punch, TRex? Like Hawaiian Punch?
;-)
Here and I’ve been using Datil Pepper Sauce on the converted, to wipe out the cloying taste of Kool-Aid…
Rayne, If you want to wager I would bet the farm Eleanor would take that stick right past McLaughlin and whoop up on Blankley in a heartbeat. Either way I would pay good denero to Pat if I could see it..)
Ugh. Going to be time to go soon and I am soooooo unenthused about going to the grocery store tonight.
I need staff. Can you still be a socialist if you have a butler, maid, and cook?
Rayne. Elenor’s been doing pretty well expressing herself for a while now. Blankley baits her to no end. Sometimes McLaghlin has to tell Blankley to behave. I dislike Buchannan’s politics but he brings a fair and well articulating perspective. What I like about John is that he’s covers the big issues and assumes there is a right answer: he’s the SHIT in shit or get off the pot.
I need staff. Can you still be a socialist if you have a butler, maid, and cook?
Sure, as long as you live in the guest house.
TRex @ 38
Sure – just call it a commune ;-)
TRex @ 37
I’m sure there are bourgeois socialists somewhere. Pay `em living wage, though.
TRex @ 36
Yes, but only if you pay them really well. :)
Groceries can wait Trex. Lay some more of that snark on us.
I think El Gato Negro ate my comment *chomp*
Thanks again for the laughs TRex, you do it so well.
As far as “civil language” goes, I still think Jon Stewart’s reaction to Condoleezza Rice’s admission as to what the title of the August 6th PDB was “Osama bin Laden determined to attack in US” was vastly, hugely, enormously better than all of the usual bland, newsreaders reactions put together. Stewart nearly fell off his chair and stared in wide-eyed astonishment and blurted “WHAT?!?!?” I mean, that was a reaction!!!
Ahh, keep yer civil discourse! I’d rather have a real response by a real person!
Hence the world of Blogging.
Civil discourse, my ass. To Joke Line and wingers “civil discourse” means “shut up and nod when I lie”.
TRex @ 36
I live a life with similarities to the day you described above. It’s frustrating because I try to appeal to their reason and intellect and it doesn’t work, even though these are educated “with-it” kind of people.
Every now and then I’ll lose my cool and go on a rant, which by some random luck seem to come off as articulate. It freezes them in their tracks and somehow I gain some respect which I’m not even sure the rant deserves.
The moral of the story: form over substance, regardless of political persuasion. Just listen to Joe Klein if you doubt me.
SusanD @ 44
Amen!!
Okay, really, I’m outta here. See you guys in about an hour.
Sweetgumroot @ 47 – no I don’t doubt you in the least. Form over substance – excellent!
Patrick Healy on Charlie Rose, talking about Obama. Wonder how soon Healy will want to get into Michelle Obama’s panty drawer.
(this is the dude who writes the obsessive articles about how many nights a year Bill & Hill spend together.)
Neil (40) — we’ll have to agree to disagree. Just watched last week and McLaughlin not only let everyone else shout over Eleanor, he barked over her himself.
I have yet to see her get a square deal on that show ever. Other programs, yes, Ms. Clift has been able to express herself, but never on McLaughlin.
I do wish she’d use “the voice” once in a while, to put a stop to it. You know what voice I’m talking about, the one where your mother can stop you dead in your tracks and your backside puckers up out of fear. That one. Works.
Political discourse in America makes me want to wash my Slim-Fast down with a few shots of methadone.
-GSD
It is so heartening to spend some time with so many like-minded people. FDL rocks….long may you run!
Loudonlib,
Don’t be afraid to offend. Many Republicans are authoritarian worshippers….so when you bark back they put their tail between their legs.
Most of my conservative friends don’t talk politics with me because I make them look foolish….They really don’t like it when you back up yourself with facts and they really, really don’t like it when you throw their words back at them.
-GSD
“and (3) ideologues of any sort tend to be obnoxious”
Joe Klein is a Centrist Ideologue.
Watching Mark Halperin makes me crave bacon.
Jonathan Alter: Women hugely support Hillary, which is interesting because historically there’s no pattern of women hugely supporting women candidates.
Mark Halperin: Hillary is morphing into Bob Dole.
GSD @ 57
Thanks GSD, good stuff. I’d forgotten to mention that while the Obama discussion was going on, another coworker had joined us in the section – a black man. He and I both tried to lay out the truth, unfortunately with little effect. But we’ll keep on pushing.
TRex
As always you ROCK.
Not to kiss up to much, But I’m thinking you nailed this one.
Loudonlib,
If the woman is a Christian conservative tell her you think that George W. Bush is the false prophet anti-Christ the bible talks about and that the gigantic US embassy being built in Baghdad is the new Temple of Babylon.
-GSD
***!!!Rawrr!!!*** **!!!Chomp, Chomp, Chomp!!!**
T-Rex,
muchas gracias for thees post, after hearing the news about Amanda, thees was a welcome pick-me-up.
so.
There is something so pathetic and unpleasant about hearing Charlie Rose say “blow”. As in, “Obama did marijuana, he did…(gesticulating wildly)….blow….”
Just to prove once again that blogs often are a more reliable source of information than the mainstream media, because blogs are constantly peer-reviewed…
The photo for this post is NOT from Marblehead, MA, which has an iron lighthouse. The image in the photo is apparently a stone lighthouse on Lake Erie, or some such place. You can see the two different Marblehead lighthouses here.
GSD @ 63
Oh, snap! Brilliant!!
Oh yeah, Slippery Mitt Romney kicks off his campaign with a nod to noted anti-Semite Henry Ford.
Now he’s lost the Jews and the evangelicals.
-GSD
Sparkles the Iguana @ 60
That must confuse the shit out of Liddy Dole, huh? :)
montag @ 69
Only if she’s still dressing him. (The paralyzed arm and all…)
Ahhh… Remember how you cheered when the Tyrannosaurus Rex in Jurassic Park ate the soul-less lawyer?
I love coming to FDL to get the occasional dose of Romanesque rush, watching you eviscerate the walking, breathing black holes that are sucking all the life force out our beautiful Democracy! -Thanks T!
Hi everyone.
GSD @ 64
Oh, well. I didn’t expect Mitt to go far anyway. Too many other “true conservatives” in the race already.
Sparkles the Iguana @ 60
They are all excited — Steve Croft said it last nite on 60 Minutes — because their bosses never let them say “blow job” during the Great Fellatio Crisis of the Nineties. Now they can say “blow,” quoting Obama’s first book, and not get yelled at by the boss.
Mike Allen with another fawning piece about Karl Rove. Mike Allen makes Jeff Gannon look like I.F. Stone.
-GSD
GSD @ 68
This might have other origins. George Romney was in tight with the Detroit boys, so this might be considered some sort of homage to his father’s legacy (whatever the hell that was).
The unfortunate fact of Detroit is that most industrialists of the time were deathly afraid of unions, and chose to conflate them with communism–and if Adolf and fascism were against communism, by gum, that was good enough for them.
Ford gets all the historical notice for being a friend of the Nazis, but, history often forgets that a senior executive of General Motors, James Mooney, was awarded a similar medal for his “distinguished services to the Reich” not long after Ford got his.
Truth is, almost every big company in this country was either sympathetic toward Nazis because of fear of communism or anxious to do business with them for the money to be made. Brown Brothers Harriman did a bang-up business through Prescott Bush’s Union Bank Corp. representing the likes of Standard Oil, DuPont, I.G. Farben, etc.
Ford was just the most obvious of a lot of industrialists in his support for Hitler.
Rich @ 61
Wow, TRex is a dirty-talker and inaccurate. There goes that cushy job with the Edwards campaign….
Someone should tell Charlie Rose that Bush’s preferred term for blow was Peruvian Marching Powder.
-GSD
“Ford was just the most obvious of a lot of industrialists in his support for Hitler.”
Hence the criticism.
-GSD
GSD @
68
Good for the Jewish Democrats for slamming him on this. Let’s see if it gets the publicity Donohue got.
Wow.
Right ficking on, T. Excellent post.
(although it will be dismissed because you said fuck.)
GSD @ 72
awol dust
EvilDrPuma @ 72
Rahm Emmanuel was backing Romney?
Just had time to read TRex! One of the best!
I’ve been working on tomorrow’s lecture. Here’s the Hungry Toad video. Kinda made me think of Joke Line. But, then again, TRex is probably the Scot, and Joke Line is probably the insect. Enjoy (if you wish) here
montag @
69
I doubt Liddy cares much, but I wonder what the BigDog thinks? And what will all those reporters say about Hillary’s panty-drawer when they find it full of pencils and Viagra?
I can’t believe we got through that Charlie Rose without Patrick Healy mentioning Michelle Obama’s panty drawer.
Anybody know why Swopa’s site is down (needlenose)? At least it is for me.
The Libby trial today depressed me. Smoke, smoke — worried me about a hung jury decision, if one person can’t get clear through all the noxious gas.
GSD @
74
Howie Kurtz called Mike Allen one of politico.com’s “smart hires” in his column. nuff said.
Valley Girl @ 83
What happens if they put Hungry Toad on the treadmill with Pissed-Off Kitty?
not that we need any more traffic from fdl today, but pudentilla blogged about joke line’s post over at skippy, and we added this editoral note:
.
.
We have a hat-trick of aircraft carriers nearing the coast of Iran.
USS Ronald Reagan heading for the Persian Gulf.
-GSD
TeddySanFran @ 86
I won’t be able to make up my own mind until I know what Betsy’s Page has opined.
Patrick 4/4 @ 84
Hmmm…. I’ll have to work on that one! xxoo
George Romney’s legacy is the Rambler American.
GSD @ 89
“Ronald Reagan heading for the Persian Gulf”–because they always return to the scene of the crime.
Montag @ 75…
Ford stood out from run of the mill anti-semites of his day, like Bush’s relatives.
Remember Ford published the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and turned the Dearborn Independent into a lightening rod of anti-semitism. I admire Ford in many ways, but his Jew-hatred was quite wacky and extreme.
Mitt Romney’s legacy is the slick-haired, smooth talking, flip-flopping, carpet-bagging, Bay Stater.
-GSD
GSD @
90
That’s a nice bit of symmetry, what with all the talk at the Libby trial about the flight of AirForceTwo to the christening of this same warship. I bet they are excited to use it!
GSD @ 78
No argument with that assessment–of Ford. Mitt is a twit, so, his intentions may have been more benign than the presumed historical implications suggest. He’s more likely to have forgotten the history (if he ever knew it) in favor of something to do with his father’s ill-fated (and deservedly so) run for the presidency.
This is one of those things that Romney himself likely never thought about, knew about, cared about–like Reagan getting it into his head that an SS cemetary at Bitburg was a great place for a speech….
VG… Heard you on the Peter B. Collins show Friday when I was driving around Phoenix… ;)
Conan:
Tiger Woods is to….
#1 in driving
as Lisa Nowak is to….
#2 while driving.
TRexxxxxxxx!!!
katymine @ 95
Oh Dear! ET said he heard too! Please tell me I didn’t sound like a raving whacko!
edit p.s. I have NEVER phoned into a radio show before!!!
I can’t access Needlenose either.
Monty,
I don’t think Mitt was sending a coded message, unlike Reagan’s campaign kicker-off in Philadelphia, Miss.
It is indicative of just how much of hack old Mitt is though.
-GSD
Valley Girl @ 101
No more than the rest of us :)
I call all the time locally. I know the local guys personally and just last week I called into the Sam Sedar show when he had a segment on global warming.
Actually, you sounded very reasonable. Peter B. has been getting updates from Jason Leopold from TruthOut about the trial so his view is NOT as crystal clear as what is found HERE! That is why his questions for Christy were all over the place.
GSD @ 104
Yeah, that’s probably it. I just try not to create a context around something that may be artificial. There’s no other indication of Mitt being either openly or secretly anti-Semitic that I know of. If and when he says something that tends in that direction, his choice of location for the kick-off of his campaign becomes more suspect.
Reagan’s roots were in California, so his choice of location stuck out like a sore thumb.
now I understand why light emanates from Joke Line’s throat when he opens his yap.
GSD @ 103
I’m inclined to give Romney the benefit of the doubt as well, but Eric Fehrnstrom is doing his employer no favors by rattling off his prepared patter about innovation and entrepreneurial spirit while ignoring the substance of the criticism. If this still looks like it could be a coded message, it’s because of that bit of smoke-blowing.
punaise @ 106
I’m starting to understand why he unzips his fly to watch TV.
“Reagan’s roots were in California, so his choice of location stuck out like a sore thumb.”
Reagan was being furtively Macacaesque.
-GSD
Rich @
66
For the sake of time, I just scrubbed the attribution. I’m tired.
But honey, I’m home!
GSD @
90
We will be at war with Iran in April or May. This news combined with news I read at Steve Clemons’ Washington Note earlier that the USS Nimitz group is deploying to the Persian Gulf in April, means we are going to war.
2 carrier groups means support for the Iraq mission. 3 carrier groups means an offensive mission of some kind. A 4th carrier group means a major air and sea war. Our plans to go toe to toe with the Soviets were designed around a 5 or 6 carrier task force in the Atlantic Fleet. 4 carrier groups is an unmistakeable major escalation in Iraq, going into Iran or other points beyond.
Russia is a staunch ally of Iran and will not stand idly by this time around when the UN Security Council gets involved in this. The UN will not survive if it allows the US to have free reign in the middle east. The UNSC will have to get involved in preventing this from happening if it wishes to remain relevant to security matters in the world.
Congress Wants To Monitor All E-Mails, IMs, Etc.
This wouldn’t be another CYA for laws already broken by Bushco would it?
TeddySanFran @
73
headline in employee newsletter:
‘Say “blow”; job not in jeopardy’
maybe Michael Gordon could read Tuesday’s main editorial in the NYT:
Iran and the Nameless Briefers
The Bush Curse:
John “Howard the Dick” Howard PM of Australia is lagging in the polls.
This bald-headed, fascist dwarf is soon to join Aznar of Spain and Berlusconi of Italy in the Bush Ash Heap of History……then it is Tony the Poodle come spring.
Men out of work.
-GSD
FiniFiniTOOBZ! @ 112
Surely someone can stop the crazy fuckers. Isn’t there any kind of emergency brake built into the constitution or something?
GSD @ 115
Shhhh! Life doesn’t go that well for me. I’m crossing my fingers about a job in Britain, and if Blair goes under, karmic balance demands that I don’t get it.
I hate that I missed El Gato Negro.
T-Rex,
The failsafe button was glued shut by Deadeye Dick Cheney.
This fuckers heading for the cliff full speed ahead.
-GSD
GSD @ 120
Sh*tty sh*tty bang bang
Hey Joe, we’re gonna need people who don’t take so many years to figure things out. Maybe even MORE, we need people who had the Integrity to stand up AT THE START of the whole mess an talk about the problems. YOU went along to GET along.
Please stop trying to declare, “I’m in charge now”? Its beyond you.
Given the time its taken you to notice Rush Limbaugh, why should I listen to your “commands” now?
So why don’t you just go rent another car and drive it across this country and witness the damage your ignorance has wrought?
See, no curse words. I Guess that means what I’ve said HAS to be taken seriously and heeded?
It’s actually not as though we need any additional evidence that Richard Cohen is an ignoramus. But here it is anyway.
punaise @ 121
Not gonna try to get on top of that one….
Unless we start talking about the guns of nav-our-own….
montag @ 124
Where Egos Dare
OT: As promised last night, here is some eye candy for the pen enthusiasts in the group.
Reminds me of this quote by Clayton Williams in the 1990 Governor’s race against Anne Richards:
“Rape is like bad weather. As long as it’s inevitable, you might as well lie back and enjoy it.”
If Joe were running for office, he would have just lost the race.
punaise @ 125
[laughing] Yeah, something like that. Resulting in “A Ditch Too Far.”
Winter storm is not playing nice here. As for emergency brakes in the Constitution, I believe they are using the original Authorization to Use Military Force as the basis for any moves they make towards war with Iran.
Notice all the stories in the last few days about the IED’s made in Iran supposedly? They are using that to cook up an excuse to tie Iran to the mess in Iraq so they can use the original AUMF to go into Iran, bypassing Congress and the UN. So to answer, no, no brakes on this train picking up steam.
TeddySanFran @
20
Ding!
burnspbesq @ 126
Ohhhhh. The Forbidden Pelikan.
It’s the one where I’ve stopped even looking at the price. A classic. That design has been around for years, but it’s the one that automatically springs to mind when I think “Pelikan”.
My fingers itch with greed.
mmm. thank you rex.
That is one kick ass post TRex.
More beautiful Pelikans:
The Blue Ocean
The Athens
I feel as if I’m a passenger in a car driven by a drunken 8-year-old down the wrong side of the freeway – I can see the headlights of the oncoming semi bearing down on us. How can we grab the wheel away from these monsters before they start WW III?
BTW, TRex – great smackdown on that worthless waste of good oxygen.
woah! Frankly, we have to help Joe escape from the Swamp!
There really only appears to be one way to avoid war with Iran and that is to defund the Iraq war like Feingold wants to. Since the Cheney Administration is taking its authority to run roughshod over the world in the name of fighting terror as authorized by the AUMF, the only way to fix it is to repeal the AUMF and defund the current ops, forcing a withdrawal of our troops.
Safi @ 133
That seems to be the consensus. Really, it’s just something I threw on at the last minute.
I’m so glad you all like it. It makes me as happy as a leetle girl. [/dieter]
First Arianna, then TRex – I wonder if Joe Klein will ever find his teeth on the floor again.
TRex @ 138
Now’s the time mein Schprockets vhen ve daaance! [up Kraftwerk] [cue robot dance] [fade to black]
punaise @ 136
Joe’s in the midst of the Bidden Jabberer Mystery, I think.
Alicia @ 135
Paul Craig Roberts describes how to stop the Iran War.
so, TRex, (oops, forgot to mention: great post!) I was wondering about this reference:
…the seizure by force which this blog and others have led in the media narrative regarding the Libby case…
Robert Cox of the Media Bloggers Association is the guy who wanted to co-opt Marcy and steal Jane’s thunder last week. Am I missing something?
TRex @
134
If you want to play dueling Pelikans, it’s going to be a long and costly war. You’ll be left suffering from a slightly different variety of Stockholm syndrome.
I had no idea there were so many pen people among the Firepups. We’re going to have to get together at a pen show sometime.
punaise @ 136
I’ve got a guide in mind
;>)
Kevin Drum :
Joe Klein :
Carl Jung said there’d be moments like this.
GSD @ 63
GSD Does know how to welcome a new doggie in from the lurks. LMFHO!
kirk murphy @ 142
Unfortunately, a collapse of the dollar would unleash a major world of hurt on our poor and middle class (in other words, you and I). Real estate bubble burst? HA! Child’s play. When skyscraper owners start missing mortgage payments we’re all in trouble.
burnspbesq @
144
You win.
That’s a hot pen.
What do they run, a few thousand $ these days?
Kevin Drum :
Joe Klein :
Carl Jung said there’d be moments like this.
Please dont’ remind me of that possiblity. *shudders* It’s bad enough i’ve been rolling around the thought of food stamps because my work wages are shoddy enough to the point where i can barely pay for rent, bills AND a car repair that snuck up on me. I’ve been getting by the last few years, but the fact that i’ve not earned above 13K in the last 3 years? Is startling and really? Scary as all hell, considering i’ve worked steadily for roughly 12 years.
My company pays better wages than most retail pharms, but i still don’t make enough to get a decent living wage as gas continues to climb yet again. One more major medical crisis and i’m screwed over yet again. Like i was 3 years ago, in fact.
kirk murphy – Interesting link – idea. I mentioned many months back that we need help from others who see this aggression run amuck for what it is.
Someone posted an itinerary of Cheneys next trip and I believe it included Japan. One has to wonder if he is just firming up some lending with a slide show and a few scare tactics. heh heh quaaack.
Maybe Rev. Moon will be there for moral support.
After band tonight, I sat around talking with five very conservative old farts. A year ago, they were ALL still rah-rahing W. Now they all say they’re totally disenchanted with the whole GOP gig.
They’d even vote for Hillary. I laughed, saying “Now that you’re on the winning side for the future, look more closely at her. She used to be your worst enemy. She’s still my second worst.”
FiniFiniTOOBZ! @ 147
‘It’s a big shit sandwich, and we’re all going to have to take a bite’
Economic warfare is the only way to break the cycle without going hot.
Let us all hope that the threat of a 21st century wheelbarrow economy from the mother of all oil bourses will suffice as both motivator and goad to prevent what is to come.
Republicanism encapsulated in one snippet. Rudy was before draft-evasion before he was against it:
• On Giuliani’s exceptional deferment from the draft to work as a law clerk: “A ‘one in a million occurrence’ … Ironically, after avoiding the fighting Giuliani worked in a department supposed to punish others who did the same.”
darkblack @ 153
Oh, but see all wars are economic anyway. WHy do you think we are being dragged into a war with Iran? Nukes? They just had 50 centrifuges blow up in unison when they turned them on in January. They do not now nor will they soon have any nuke capability of their own. Maybe ten years from now, but not soon.
This war is precisely about the Iranian Oil Bourse. They are trading oil on their own market and it is priced in Euros, not dollars. The Cheney Administration has to shut this bourse down now before everyone trades on the Iranian bourse. WHen oil is no longer traded in dollars, you can kiss a Dow above 7500 goodbye.
aliasofwestgate @ 150
Alias, you should never have to go hungry. That just isn’t right.
What the hell has happened to this country?
darkblack @ 153
Let’s keep in mind that the only people who survive an economic collapse more or less intact are the very, very wealthy, and that collapse gives them the opportunity to consolidate holdings and further increase monopolistic practices at firesale prices.
An economic collapse hurts everyone but the top half-percent.
That said, I think such a collapse is probably inevitable, given the financial system today.
Grab your shorts and pull hard, upwards, before they get blown off….
Wolcott could have been describing our pal Joey:
26 years of pie in the sky pseudo economics is what happened to this country. 40 years of dumbing down the educational system so that a 2006 college graduate reads at the same level as a 1960 high school graduate. No philosophy instruction or understanding of the importance of philosophy to a nation’s civic health. Mass voter apathy. I could keep going on with What’s Wrong With America but I’m as sick of hearing it as everyone else. Elect Democrats to fix this shit.
synchronicity @
149
Oh lordy. Too rich.
darkblack @ 153
You’re right. But there’s a whole new world right here. We’re engaging in it – the shared information of the WWW and the heightened education level worldwide. The solutions to the financial, health, education and environmental problems are mostly here. If we know the right sequence of buttons to push, we can view most of them in minutes.
Political control and rational, humane co-ordination of power are the main barriers. This is the most important time in human history to creatively act upon knowledge which already exists. But we can win, and must believe we actually will. Not “have the potential to win,” but we need to believe “we will win” to do so.
FiniFiniTOOBZ! @ 155
Precisely…and the thinking man and woman on the (non-American) street, given a choice between A) destabilization of their nation’s currency or B) the same fate dealt to a rival nation, will often opt for option B.
‘It’s true, it’s true’
;>)
The market for ‘American-style freedom’ abroad is very weak right now, especially where advantages are to be seized…Yet another factor glossed over by the Dark Lord’s minions.
Good stuff!
Safi @ 163
That’s probably a great song, but the longer I watched it, the more I felt creeping Dirty Old Man-ness stealing over me. Do you think he’d do a version with his shirt on for those of us who don’t want to go to jail for watching him?
Thanks for the post TRex I’ll echo the black cat, Amanda’s story both saddened and pissed me off.
Here is what I wrote on her blog, but it got caught in moderation.
Okay. I have to say something about this.
1) That you felt the need to resign sucks.
2) As someone who was silenced by ABC/Disney because of my criticism of their violent rhetoric toward Muslims, liberals and Democrats I totally understand where you are coming from. Especially right now.
3) I’d like someone smarter than me to pay attention to Donahue’s possible violation of the 501 c rules. (And btw, Morgan’s possible violation too)
4)The media didn’t do their job in this story from the git go. They ran with a story that didn’t even bother to do the “fair and balanced” crap that Fox does. Not even a single “Donahue” does it too” or bothering to call him “controversial” when mentioning his name. Shame on them.
And that is something we as bloggers can to to HELP the press the next time someone like Donahue pulls this kind of stunt.
How? Anticipate, deposition, counter and expose their attacks as soon as they appear before they gain energy.
They went after the bloggers for the same reason they went after the press in the old days. We are effective and our communication has reach in the real world.
So they are working the “new refs” but they are using the same old tricks. In the old days they would scream at the press for their “liberal bias” so that now they have internalized the fear of being called liberal. Now they scream at the bloggers, ‘They say dirty words!’ in an effort to discredit what we say by looking at How we say it.
It’s want they do.
Maybe I should start a support group, “Liberal Bloggers Attacked by Conservatives In the Headlines” I’d serve Tranya!
TRex @ 164
2nd LMFHO this thread! Night, doggies. Long day coming.
I’ve done the Food Bank thing before, except now i don’t have TIME to go to one at the limited hours it’s open during the work week. Which is part of why i’ve been considering that food stamp thing. Slightly more convienent. It’s just a sad thought that i have to resort to either of those things to make ends meet. It’s not welfare, but it’s damned close to it in my mind. My parents worked their asses off to stay off it. I do the same to keep off welfare (as if i could ever qualify? no kids, no free help! sorry you earn ‘too much.’ that’s the rub. Runs the same for medicare.I swear they encourage pregancy with that crap) I could ask my parents for a bit of help, but they’ve been scraping nearly as much as i have, though still better off. they just have twice as many bills to pay in the end though.
My whole sorry statement to my own plight and to those of other single working poor people screwed over by the current economy? Saftey net? What f**king safety net?
Amen, sister. On that note, it’s time for me to hit the hay. Good night, everyone. Be good.
Don’t feed any trolls that might come by. A moderator should be by to deal with them shortly.
Sleep well.
CNN:Armitage-Woodward tape
TRex @ 164
He’s a movie star actually. Well kinda, was in Short Bus.
If you look through his clips he pretty much is half/full-nekkid in all of ‘em.
I was just impressed at how he put those words to music.
montag @ 157
Do they have what it takes to survive their very own homegrown mujahaddin, most not so easily identified through stereotype?
When class warfare goes hot, the rich eventually always lose, due to their dependency on corruption (the two-edged sword), and force of arms (that requires constant upkeep) to maintain the balance of power.
More acquisition means more goods to protect…A growing payroll and a downwardly spiralling currency is no way to maintain a fortune.
It is in the best interests of Bush’s ‘peers’ to step off of the gravy train for a spell. The greedy, of course, can end up making their own sauce.
;>)
‘You can see them out for dinner, with their piggy wives,
Clutching forks and knives,
to eat the bacon…’
How to we make sure that Klein sees this post?
T_REX!!! just WOW! did u lay it out clear enough so even idiots like klein can understand? methinks u did lol. great post
Go TRex! This is what it needs. Kick the legs out from under them and then kick them when they’re down. Attack!
darkblack @ 171
You’re describing the people that might lose all.
I’m talking about the people with more than enough to lose and still prevail.
Richard Scaife survives today because his family had much more than enough. Kennedy came to prominence because his father had made so much money bootlegging that he could afford to buy Seagram’s out of bankruptcy and wait for prohibition to die an inevitable death, in the midst of the depression.
The simple bourgeoisie get raped, just like everyone else….
Ed*ard Teller @ 152
They’d even vote for Hillary. I laughed, saying “Now that you’re on the winning side for the future, look more closely at her. She used to be your worst enemy. She’s still my second worst.”
Why do you hate (a) New York, (b) women, (c) our troops?
(/smirk)
Great comeback, Ed*ard !
montag @ 175
GSD @ 112
GSD – Don’t write the slimy bastard off. He has been behind before and trust me there is nothing to which he will not stoop to retain power. Read up on the Tampa incident if you don’t believe me.
montag @ 175
Of course, I’m not disagreeing with you about l’petits, and all those below them in the decending economic strata.
And I certainly don’t wish misfortune upon any, especially the already unfortunate.
But the predecessors of Scaife and Kennedy and others of that class didn’t face this scenario, did they?
It doesn’t matter what is sold if there is nothing left to secure its transfer and acquisition.
Some of the most wealthy will make the jump to revaluing aspects of their liquid assets in some safer haven, perhaps even stabler foreign currencies, before the collapse…That would be ‘unpatriotic’, albeit good business of course.
And indeed, the forward thinking among them may have already done so, as they view the actions of a government they ardently supported – among whose many lofty ambitions was to ‘drown government in a bathtub’ …whether through incompetence or calculated design evidently making no difference.
‘The man in the coon-skin cap
In the big pen
wants eleven dollar bills You only got ten …’
Of course the Iranians are supplying weapons to the Iraq Jihad insurgency….against Saddam Hussein they supplied an army.
They’ve been fomenting Jihad in Iraq for decades. Who do you think Saddam imprisoned tortured executed?
Jihad Shiites.
Saddam was the (only Arab) bane of Jihad.
Just exactly the one guy Bush/GOP shouldn’t have taken out.
Still all these facts aside, the bulk of the weapons in Iraq and the ME have “Made In USA” stamped on them.
You will see when Jihad assassinates Masharraf American weapons really go to work in the hands of Islamic Jihad.
“wet turd of a…”
i prefer cobag. short for cholostomy bag.
less mess, more stink
Alicia @ 160
Joe Klein finally figured out how the toobz work, realized why all the uncivil dirty f*cking hippies were so uncivil, and then plagerized shamelessly. Civility is one value, intellectual honesty another.
Could it be the height of irony and justice that Russia will aid Islamic Jihad (with anti-aircraft missiles ) to drive the “evil empire” infidel invader and occupier from Islam?
Bin laden played Bush and the Americans like a piano. It was not remotely possible for Jihad to carry on a war in America. They wanted the USA military over in Islam where they could really get their hands on ‘em. Not only did Bush stupidly accommodate Osama but he took out Saddam Hussein of all people; Jihad’s only secular enemy in the Middle-East.
I used to think the USA would survive 8 years of Bush. It looks like they haven’t survived 6 years.
TeddySanFran @
23
According to Amanda, “Bill Donohue doesn’t speak for Catholics, …” IMHO, that’s for Catholics to say. If Donohue is misrepresenting their position, they need to speak up.
There’s a formula that is understood by Russert and his guests. Russert asks the tough, piercing question, the guest, using their finest obfuscation, dance around the question without ever answering it – then Russert, true to form, FAILS TO ASK THE FOLLOW-UP QUESTION REPEATEDLY UNTIL THE ANSWER IS PROVIDED.
That is the nature of not only Russert’s show, but ALL Mainstream “journalism.”
That’s the entire game being played – all of it orchestrated from on-high by David Rockefeller.
The “Appearance” of news reporters. That’s all we have. No investigation, no follow-up questions – no actual truth.
Hey Tim…it’s goes like this:
“Answer the question.”
“That’s fine – but now answer my question.”
“OK – ENOUGH OF THE OBFUSCATION – NOW ANSWER MY QUESTION DIRECTLY.”
When you ask a question, listen for the answer. When they fail to answer your question, ask it again. And again.
Journalism 101.
Unless you’re JUST A SHILL.
kevin jones @
183
It is we Americans who are the piano.
There is no “Osama Bin Laden.”
There never has been.
There is no “Al Qaeda.”
Now what?
Hey, Marion. Gimme some of that coffee.
Coffee: check
Laptop: check
Black dress and shoes: check
Emeralds: check
Egregious attitude: check
Ok, ready to go to court today :)
Okay, retirin’, here you go. 100% Columbian, made just a LEEEETLE bit stronger than usual… And some Earl Gray for me. The NYT has Nicholas Kristof on the surge and the “what ifs,” and Stacy Schiff has a piece on not reading.
http://mgpaquin.blogspot.com/
Warmer today here, but they’re saying we’ll get thunderstorms. Oh well, it’s better than freezing.
“Warmer today here, but they’re saying we’ll get thunderstorms. Oh well, it’s better than freezing.”
Snow day here (and tomorrow) as big storm moves up from Ohio precluding THE COMMUTE. Guess I’ll just have to lurk all day on FDL and follow the trial.
retirin’ in five @ 190
Wish I could, but those pesky bills need to get paid. Oh, for a winning lottery ticket!
The picture and title reminded me of a Whittier poem, “Skipper Ireson’s Ride.”
http://whitewolf.newcastle.edu…..reson.html
Maybe Mr. Klein had better stay away from the women of Marblehead!
Marion — luckily, there’s work I can do from home via the tubes so it’s not a total loss for me. (Note to self — print out new cover sheets for TPS reports.)
Retirin’, I keep lobbying to work from home one or two days a week (it’s just amazing how much more I can get done) but the boss seems to feel that the wheels of his practice won’t turn unless my wee paw is the one turning the crank…
Our management is enlightened. “Offices without walls” and all that, especially on days like this. Take care of that wee paw.
Well, we’re about to break free from the hospital and go into a private practice model. The other “big boy” in the practice is much more computer savvy than the primary boss, so there may be hope yet. (The problem is El Jefe Supremo loses track of pieces of paper or telephone numbers and squeals for me to find them…!)
Ah, yes…the El Jefe business model. Did thirty-two years in that environment. Last six have been diametrically opposite but diminished, unfortunately, by THE COMMUTE.
g’morning all,
Thanks for the coffee and the links Marion. I’ve spent so much time in the cold I feel like an icicle.
EvilDrPuma @
94
Point out to your conservative friends that their conservative hero was the original traitor-appeaser who broke the law to provide US arms to the Islamic fundamentalists who helds Americans hostage. Then point out that the current admin continues the Repub tradition of strengthening US enemies while weakening the US.
Extra irony that the warship named after him is headed to Iran.
tubino @ 199
Part of the support group deployed also contains the USS Ledeen and the USS Ghorbanifar.
(Larissa @ RawStory via Alternet)
All of this should come out in the original investigation of the current Libby trial, but will it?
Good Morning Morning Gang,
Thanks for the coffee -
egregious !!!
O’ Glake: check
please post pics. hope you have a truly FDL day
rumi @ 200
Do these fools realize they have Putin[sp] stateing in no uncertain terms that the russians WILL take covert/overt actions? here in the area of the northwest where I live we have 250,000 ukrainians,russians,georgein….we have more ex-soviets in Oregon than Mexicans fer christ sake,these fools start something and so many things will happen so fast we,as a coherent nation will be toast…
Hubris squared.
My god,we are sleepwalking into WWIII and outside of the folks who are paying attention,it is not being spoken of in any media.
We hit Iran and life as we know it is done.I am starting to belive that this is the plan…we dont have enought resources to keep this lifeboat floatin…sooo those w/nothin,get nothin but a quick shove over the side…and devil take the hindmost
They Want War…they will sow the wind,and reap the whirlwind I dont think great wealth will survive this.Too many guns ,too many mercs,too many who were in ‘Nam and too many folks that feel they were cheated from the start of the game…those ones will be the ones with the most rage..
vexed by this as well, have been thinking/musing loosely along those lines . . .
a small gaggle of Valeries dressed like this image here,
should be standing outside Prettyman every day holding signs saying “Who will they out, betray, endanger (your verb here) for Iran ???”
civil, of course, but provocative. The Opposition has done this with a great deal of success the past 6 years, think Brooks Brothers Riot, all those Schiavo loons, and would sure love to see our side pull one off
be kind of tough to ignore with all those kewl kidz in the courthouse – wink wink
eeew thread upstairs
It’s amazing how the media expects liberals to be civil while allowing conservatives to be rabid. Sort of like how they expect Democrats to be bipartisan while allowing Republicans to push highly partisan policies and tactics.
…here’s the most troubling twist. In understanding Ledeen, as twisted and troubling as that is in itself, the goal is not to replace the order but to utterly destroy it. That is the recurring theme in his words, writing and actions.
“Baghdad Year Zero” has been linked here many times and is easily Googlable for more background of an example. Sadly, he is succeeding in many ways that aren’t even being discussed yet. Look at the MSM/TM and the new citizen journalism. The order is not being replaced but displaced for a new order to arise from the destruction.
If I’m ahead of the curve, I’d say that some sort of uncivil war here is actually part of the plan. If I’m wrong, it could be just another tragic unintended consequence.
cbl – that’s a great idea about the Valeries :-)
TRex @
149
Naah. Not even close. They don’t show up on eBay very often, but when they do, Stockholms tend to go in the $250-300 range. Or you could go to http://www.pentrace.com, put a “wanted to buy” post on the “green” bulletin board, and see what happens.
Probably EPU’d here as well. Left a note at end of comments “depends on what you mean “illegal”
About the only way brakes might be put on the runnaway administration is if Congress (finds the spine) to declare that any attack with nuclear weapons upon a country that has not declared WAR upon the U.S. by the Military or Intelligence asset will be charged by Congress with Treason. Furthermore, if any country uses its assets in like manner, that will be considered a declaration of WAR upon the interests of the people of the United States. That may put some distance between irrational fingers and certain buttons and just might create enough time for Congress and the Law to work their wonders.
Hopefully, with the charge of treason hanging, few if any military will jeapordise their rank and join General Arnold in infamy. Nice thing, if the US is actually attacked, no hands are tied defending (but not attacking).
Was always wondering what all the “W” shite was about; finally sussed it was – pennis WART IN THE WHITE HOUSE – makes sence with those pr!cks.
Is it possible to declare the Administration and all Republicans to be liberal and let the sharks at ‘em? Bet the “beaches” would be cleared in no time of the riff-raff.
Back to the shaddows. Great work by all and thanks for the news.
I’m stunned that guys like Joe Klein actually earn a nice living doing what they do.
Does it ever occur to Klein and his ilk that maybe we would be more ‘civil’ if we saw more truth spoken by the pundit class? The frustration of seeing them misinform the public day after day is enough to drive a nun to cuss.
cbl threadkiller @
205
Oops, thought you said Valkyries! Tough to ignore, indeed.
Wierd… Marblehead? I don’t get this title… and I live right next to the headers in cozy little Swampscott.